Research briefs

Keep up to date with the latest research on disaster risk and resilience on the PreventionWeb knowledge base.

Explore cutting-edge research on disaster risk reduction and resilience through PreventionWeb's dedicated research briefs section. Our platform curates and highlights the most recent academic studies, providing valuable insights into disaster risk management. Each research brief distills key findings from peer-reviewed journals and academic publications.

Submit a research brief.

These briefs are designed to keep you informed about the latest scientific advances. Links to the full publications are always included, ensuring easy access to in-depth knowledge. Please note that this section exclusively features academic research, distinct from reports by international organizations or Non-Governmental Organisations.

Uploaded on
Picture of the Upper Varshedz
Research briefs
Tiny mountain lakes pose big, overlooked flood risks, study warns

Researchers call for urgent rethink of global hazard monitoring as "Small Alpine Lake Outbursts" emerge in a warming world.

University of Aberdeen
Research briefs
San Andreas Fault: Hidden movements revealed by artificial intelligence

A research team has uncovered a previously hidden population of so-called slow slip events beneath the Parkfield section of California’s San Andreas Fault.

Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (GFZ)
Wetland
Research briefs
Calculating the costs of wetland loss

Wetlands protect communities and ecosystems from flooding. A study quantifies their financial importance.

Eos - AGU
Research briefs
The tiny microalgae behind South Australia’s harmful algal bloom is among the most toxic ever tested

Over the past 15 months, one of the country’s worst marine environmental disasters has been unfolding in South Australia.

Conversation Media Group, the
Research briefs
Ocean temperatures may be shielding Earth from a planet-wide drought

A new study suggests the world is far less likely to experience a single, planet-wide drought than previously feared.

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN)
Two African men inspecting lettuce crops and a mango tree nursery on the fertile banks of the Niger river close to Niamey.
Research briefs
When heat rises, farmers shift gears: How extreme temperatures are reshaping agricultural input use decisions in West Africa

A new study of groundnut farming in Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria asks: when temperatures soar, how do farmers change what they put into the ground?

World Bank, the
Digital thermometer showing a high temperature in a town
Research briefs
Study reveals the world's cities most at risk from extreme heat

Research from the University of Oxford has ranked 205 of the world's largest cities by their risk from extreme heat, identifying where people are most in danger as global temperatures rise.

University of Oxford
Research briefs
Study explores social media's role in tornado disaster communication

When a powerful EF-4 tornado tore through Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on March 24, 2023, social media became a critical tool for sharing weather warnings, damage reports and recovery information

University of Nebraska-Lincoln